DUV 41- my first k98

I bought my first k98k today. Found this guy in the corner at the local shop for a good price. I think the price was right because it had been neglected for what must have been decades, and looked terrible. The bore looked surprisingly decent, so I took my chances. Upon disassembly I found that most of the rough stuff was actually the single thickest smear of cosmoline I have ever seen, much of which had crusted up and turned colors. I spent much time with warm water and soap, and then dried and worked with a soft bristled brush and oil to get any rust out. It still is far from perfect, but it looks much better than before, and while there is some pitting on the barrel and receiver, none of it is deep enough to cause me concern. The stock, while not having any big cracks, is disgusting, and needs a lot of work. I have been toying with the idea of trying to steam it to raise some small dents, but mostly to draw the ick out of it. The stock, and the mismatched, Czech straight bolt are where my questions are. Has anyone actually tried steaming, and had luck with it? I have only seen some videos on it, never tried myself. Also, as the rifle is mismatched and far from perfect anyways, finding the correct bolt isn't a huge deal for me. This one passes headspace with flying colors, is it possible to heat and bend the handle, and achieve the same angle and bend as the original bolt? I'm not going to try and "restore" it, but getting it as cleaned up as I can as well as making it at least handle correctly are my goals.

Welcome to the forums, please post some more pictures of the rifle for all of us if you can.

Wouldn’t do that to your bolt IMO. Do your research and find a proper bolt for the manufacturer, then sell the Czech bolt and use that towards a good complete and correct bolt. Plenty of people on this forum with excellent spare parts including bolts. You just need to do your research and ask.

most here will suggest NOT cleaning the stock, as it removes it’s originality. As a woodworker, yes, steam will raise many dents, but will likely cause you to sand the stock, a ‘kiss of death’ for many collectors. Someday, the rifle will belong to someone else. It has made it this far, please consider conserving it for the next person to enjoy. That being said, I’ve had good success removing cosmoline with heat. Wrap stock tightly in paper towels, then in black trash bag, place in sun. The more firm contact between wood & towels the better it works, sucks the coz out, turning yellow. Unwrap & repeat until no more cosmoline is drawn out. If it’s already too cold where you live, do same, but heat near woodstove. I feel a heat gun is too “local” a heat source & can easily “burn” the wood. You want soaking heat, <200 degrees F. As another option, check out “whiting” at brownell’s, more difficult to clean up afterwards, but specifically made for this purpose.

Most of all, enjoy your rifle!

Stop what you are doing first and take better pics. Any import marks?

I did take some more pictures this morning

I appreciate all the input, first and foremost. I certainly don't want to ruin it any further than it already is, just looking for the best way to draw the cosmoline, and frankly, dirt, out of the stock. It is very dark as you can see, and there are jusy a couple of spots where some of the patterns of lamination are visible. I have not done anything to the stock yet, do not fear. I don't know how much preservation can be done that would be worthwhile, as the only matching parts on the entire gun are the barrel and receiver.

Edit: I will take it back out of the stock and look more closely, but I have not seen any import markings on it so far.